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TABLE 2:
PROCEDURE FOR CALCULATING THE ENERGY CONTENT OF A FOOD
NUTRIENT AMOUNT MULTIPLIED BY EQUALS TO
Fat _______ g 9 kcal = _______kcal
Protein _______ g 4 kcal = _______kcal
Carbohydrate _______ g 4 kcal = _______kcal
Alcohol (ethanol) _______ g 7 kcal = _______kcal
Organic acids _______ g 3 kcal = _______kcal
Dietary fibre _______ g 2 kcal = _______kcal
Energy content of the food (added up) = _______kcal
EXAMPLE OF HOW TO CALCULATE ENERGY CONTENT OF A FOOD PRODUCT
Product A comes in a 1 litre package and the recommended number of servings is four
(one serving = 250 ml). The package contains 113.2 g carbohydrate, 21.9 g fat, 30.6 g
protein and 1.4 g dietary fibre. How many kcal energy does one serving of product A
provide?
Energy from carbohydrate : 113.2 g x 4 kcal = 453 kcal
Energy from fat : 21.9 g x 9 kcal = 197 kcal
Energy from protein : 30.6 g x 4 kcal = 122 kcal
Energy from dietary fibre : 1.4 g x 2 kcal = 3 kcal
Energy per package : 453 + 197 + 122 + 3 = 775 kcal
Energy per 100 ml : 775 x 100/1000 = 78 kcal or 328 kJ*
Energy per serving = 78 x 250/100 = 195 kcal or 819 kJ
*1 kcal = 4.2 kJ
GUIDELINES FOR LABELLING OF OPTIONAL NUTRIENTS
Besides the mandatory nutrients, other nutrients may also be displayed on the nutrition label. These
include vitamins and minerals, dietary fibre, sodium, cholesterol, fatty acids, amino acid, nucleotide
and other food components. There are however various conditions and requirements for the
labelling of these optional nutrients.
1) Vitamins and minerals can only be declared if they meet the following requirements:
Only vitamins and minerals listed in the Nutrient Reference Value (NRV) (Appendix 4) can
be declared on a food label. Other vitamins and minerals must have prior written approval
of the Deputy Director General of Health (Public Health), Ministry of Health Malaysia,
before they can be declared on the label.
Vitamins and minerals must be present in significant amounts before they can be declared
on the food label. In other words, the vitamin and mineral content must be at least 5% of
the NRV per serving.
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16 | Guide To Nutrition Labelling and Claims (as at December 2010)
The labelling format for vitamins and minerals are the same as for the four main nutrients (energy,
carbohydrate, protein and fat). They should be expressed in metric units per 100g or per 100ml, or
per package if the package contains only a single portion. This information should also be given
per serving as quantified on the label.
Vitamins and minerals declared in the food label may also be expressed as a percentage of the NRV
per 100g or per 100 ml or per package if the package contains only a single portion and per serving
as quantified on the label.
EXAMPLE OF HOW TO CALCULATE ENERGY CONTENT OF A FOOD PRODUCT
Per 100 g
Per serving
(50 g) (a)
NRV
5% NRV
per serving
(50g) (b)
Can this
nutrient be
declared?
Rationale
Vitamin A 100 g 50 g 800 g 40 g Yes Is present
in significant
amounts
(a) > (b)
Iron 0.4 mg 0.2 mg 14 mg 0.7 mg No Is not present
in significant
amounts
(a) < (b)
Selenium 0.3 g 0.15 g NA NA No Is not listed
in the NRV
2. Dietary fibre can be declared on the label, expressed as g per 100 g or per 100 ml, or per
package if the package contains only a single portion. In addition, this information should also
be given per serving as quantified on the label.
3. Cholesterol and sodium may be declared on the label, expressed in mg per 100 g or per 100
ml, or per package if the package contains only a single portion. In addition, this information
should also be given per serving as quantified on the label.
4. Where a claim is made regarding the amount or type of fatty acids, the amounts of all the four
main types of fatty acids, namely saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and trans fatty
acids shall be declared in the following form:
Fat ..... g
comprising of
monounsaturated fatty acid ..... g
polyunsaturated fatty acid ..... g
saturated fatty acid ..... g
trans fatty acid ..... g
For example, if a declaration is made of the amount of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in a product,
the amounts of all the four main types of fatty acids should be declared as indicated above.
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Guide To Nutrition Labelling and Claims (as at December 2010) | 17
This is the recommended format for the labelling of optional nutrients:
NUTRITION INFORMATION
1
Serving size: 200 ml
Servings per package: 5
Per 100 ml Per Serving (200 ml)
Fat
2
5.8 g 11.6 g
comprising of
monounsaturated fatty acid 2.1 g 4.2 g
polyunsaturated fatty acid 1.0 g 2.0 g
docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) 0.5 g 1.0 g
saturated fatty acid 2.4 g 4.8 g
trans fatty acid 0.3 g 0.6 g
Cholesterol 49 mg 98 mg
Dietary fibre 1.8 g 3.6 g
Vitamin A 80 g 160 g
Vitamin D 1.2 g 2.4 g
Vitamin E 0.3 mg 0.6 mg
Vitamin C 3.0 mg 6.0 mg
Thiamin 0.1 mg 0.2 mg
Riboflavin 0.6 mg 1.2 mg
Niacin 1.0 mg 2.0 mg
Vitamin B6 0.1 mg 0.2 mg
Folic Acid 22 g 44 g
Vitamin B12 0.4 g 0.8 g
Calcium 270 mg 540 mg
Sodium 20 mg 40 mg
Magnesium 19 mg 38 mg
Iron 1.5 mg 3.0 mg
Zinc 2.3 mg 4.6 mg
Iodine 5 g 10 g
1 This is the recommended title for nutrition labels
2 Fat is a mandatory nutrient for nutrition labelling
The use of units and decimal places for each nutrient should follow the examples in the sample
format above. International Units (IU) should not be used for vitamins. For conversion of IU to
metric units, refer to Appendix 5.
Moisture and ash content of a food may also be declared on a nutrition information panel. If these
are declared, one decimal place should be used for these components and the format for
declaration should follow that stipulated in these regulations.
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APPENDIX 5:
CALCULATION AIDS
When You Know Multiply By To Obtain
Kilocalories (kcal)
Beta-carotene (g)
Vitamin A (IU)
Vitamin D (IU)
Vitamin E (IU)
4.2
1/6
0.3
0.025
1
kilojoule (kJ)
Vitamin A alcohol (retinol) (g) Vitamin A alcohol (retinol)
(g)
Vitamin D2 /D3 (g)
Vitamin E (dl-alpha-tocopheryl acetate) (mg)
APPENDIX 6:
CONVERSION FACTORS FOR NITROGEN TO PROTEIN
FOOD CONVERSION FACTOR
Cereals
Wheat, hard, medium or soft
Wholemeal or flour or bulgur
Flour, medium or low extraction
Macaroni, spaghetti, wheat pastes
Bran
Rice
Rye, barley, oats
Pulses, nuts and seeds
Groundnuts
Soya bean, seeds, flour or products
Treenuts
Almond
Brazil nut
Coconuts, chestnuts, treenuts
Seeds
Sesame, safflower, sunflower
Milk and milk products
Edible fats and edible oil
Margarine, butter
Other food
5.83
5.70
5.70
6.31
5.95
5.83
5.46
6.25
5.18
5.71
5.30
5.30
6.38
6.38
6.25
Source:
WHO (1973). Report of a Joint
FAO/WHO Ad Hoc Expert Committee on
Energy and Protein Requirements, WHO
Technical Report
Series No. 522. WHO, Geneva
APPENDIX 4:
LIST OF NUTRIENT REFERENCE VALUE (NRV)
NUTRIENT UNIT UNIT
Vitamin A
Vitamin D
Vitamin E
Vitamin C
Thiamin
Riboflavin
Niacin
Vitamin B6
Folic acid
Vitamin B12
Calcium
Magnesium
Iron
Zinc
Iodine
Protein
g
g
mg
mg
mg
mg
mg
mg
g
g
mg
mg
mg
mg
g
g
800
5
10
60
1.4
1.6
18
2
200
1
800
300
14
15
150
50
The NRV list has been adapted from the Codex Alimentarius
and will be reviewed from time to time based on new relevant
scientific evidence and applications from the food industry.
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